Spoilers "Supergirl": the 6th and final season

And that’s that. Hopefully her revealing herself doesn’t screw over Superman.

my feed wasn’t that great so I missed a few moments. One thing they were facing Lex and the Imp and the next Mon El and others were there. I must have missed a scene.

 

Supergirl - The Final Season
Season 6 - episode 19 - "The Last Gauntlet"

At long last!

SG: SG claimed Dey died trying to protect them....nope. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Trying to retcon an empty character so quickly....not working.The audience was not asleep when Dey just stood there as Lex's target practice.

Future Lex / Nyxlygsptlnz: The Infinity Totems...whatever.

Nyxlygsptinz's "what's best for me is no man doing for me what I'm quite capable of doing myself"
Really, showrunners? Right to the end, its yelling an answer to an argument never made.

Lilian was walking the line between being an intrusive witch (harassing Lex about family being all he needs) and perceptive (accusing Nyxlygsptinz of having daddy issues), which was the predictable way of planting mistrust in her son and the imp. ...aaaanndd Nyxlygsptinz suddenly having all of this love for Esme was Plot Convenience 101, Part 1, since at no time before this episode did she care about anyone, and certainly not harming anyone. If played with any consistency, she would have held on to Esme and forced Alex to do her bidding, or else.

Alex/Kelly: "it's because of how much we love her..." yaddah, yaddah. This underdeveloped pair were just going through the motions of a so-called relationship that was never believable. Having Alex swipe and try to give the totem to the villains made her appear rather thick, since everyone has been informed over and over and over again how each totem works (and risk of joining the objects), so she was recklessly endangering others, making her seem as self-centered as ever and yes, her "deal" caused the disasters to follow, but no one was ever going to hold her responsible for that--not on this show.

Rojas: There's no good deed she can perform to erase the fact that her leaking Lex's journal caused Dey's death. There's no reversing that (unless a certain bad idea from an old film is used), so she should not get a free pass. But the idea of anyone on this show dealing with serious consequences has as much of a chance as a penny turning into gold.

NOTES: That bus speech....incredibly cringe-worthy.

Season 6 - episode 20 - "Kara" - the series finale

SG: "We need to empower everyone..." Here we go again: like SG's "hope" broadcast in season two, we are subjected to yet another Pollyanna-ish, Saturday-morning-esque solution that ignores how everyone on earth has their own interests based on concepts of self, family, nationalism, etc that take center stage over someone's asinine pep talk. Another typical beat of this series in unearned glory--as in Mon-El saying her speech was in the history books. Despite the Kara-in-the-future prediction not coming to pass, I was actually pleased SG did not abandon her own timeline to run off with Mon-El.

Future Lex / Nyxlygsptlnz: I assume Lex will need an event to escape from the Phantom Zone, which will be provided by someone--or thing on Superman and Lois...if that series is set in the same dimension.

Brainy / Nia: So, for all of the build up that he was fated to stay in the future, the writers just crapped all over that by Brainy just deciding to stay. Oh, well.

Winn: Well, at least this marks the end of any musical moments on this series.

Token Olsen: SEE SERIES ASSESSMENT

NOTES:

The ridiculous thing about SG revealing her identity is that anyone--from an investigator, to a villain with time on his hands casually performing a Google search would now look put the rather easy-fitting pieces together to learn that Kara's known cousin Clark must be Kryptonian, too. No more secret I.D for Superman, and his family's collective asses would be on the chopping block of endless enemies.
Not only is the idea of revealing her identity food for the shaking, insecure types who believe everyone needs to know the personal business of everyone else, but it should have an impact on Superman and Lois going forward, since that series is set sometime in the future (using the twins' age as a marker). That series still makes no direct reference to SG's identity being revealed (or believe any reference at all), so this has to be addressed, unless Superman and Lois is truly set in another dimension.

Grant's "..and there's no tool more powerful for change than the press." Written like a high school journalism student with no life experience, or a media propagandist.

Lena's "You've made me a better person" ...just hand waive those eugenics experiments and the death it caused, showrunners. Good, strong moral footing.

SERIES ASSESSMENT:

James the Token: That's where it all ended for Olsen. Like other White Liiberals who are behind shows of this kind, Berlanti tokenized the James Olsen character; he was there only to be "different", yet the showrunners had no intention--actually a damn responsibility to present and explore what it meant for Olsen as a black male in the world--that neverending psychological guidepost in everyday life, which is completely removed from his association to others with their own identity concerns.
All the showrunners did was have Olsen spout off endless support for every other belief/cause (in some cases, as if there was any sort of suggested equivalency) but he was never written to "go deep" on the identity/experiences that a black man in the news media, in basic life, and the fictional side of superhero business has to endure. One scene of a black kid recognizing James as the Guardian, or his (James) Judging Amy script rip was weak and illustrated just how unimportant this black male character was to a
series that trumpets the endless details of other groups--but not his.

I've seen this kind of tokenized mistreatment in entertainment for decades, and there's no excuse for it, especially on a 21st century series like this one. He was flavor--not substance, which, in the
grand scheme of it all, so many black viewers I know found extremely offensive. Since Brooks
was cast as Olsen, they could have used as much of the comic source's life as they desired, but change the essential part, so that the comic character would be represented, but again, his essence
reroutes the comic history, taking it in a new direction always tied to who he is, which is not uncommon to comic characters, as seen at the dawn of the Silver Age, and in any of the reimagined / alternate characters which has a continued presence in comic lore.

Again, even that did not happen, and four seasons in, Olsen was shuffled off with another throwaway story, and one not doing anything to build on the crucial, worldview-directing specifics of his life.

One could comfortably say that a large number of Arrowverse viewers do count themselves as very liberal/progressive, yet when one looks back to the casting announcement of Supergirl, some of those same people resented the idea of Brooks being cast as Olsen (as season one ran, there were constant cries of Jeremy Jordan being a "better" fit for Olsen), or never found it grating that of all of the main characters
on a show where exploration/expression of identity is of the greatest priority, that James---the one black male--had his identity/development feet cut from under him, left to be little more than an American black male "in appearance only" instead of a character that represented his real world counterparts with a unique story to tell (one that is experienced from one generation to the next), yet that was of no concern to the showrunners.

We know the reason why, which was made more apparent by the way Black Lightning--a series developed and run by the Akils and Scott--was an incredibly rich exploration of the black experience in and out of a costume. Berlanti had little to with that series, hence it being the far and away best DC TV series of this era.

James Olsen...token cameo, token character. That's how Berlanti Productions treats a black male.


Nicole Maines: Much was made of Maines being the "first" trans actress in a superhero production, but that's historically inaccurate; the horrifying 1979 TV special Legends of the Superheroes featured Aleshia Brevard as Giganta, who was the actual first trans actress in a superhero production. Although Bevard did not reveal this fact--considering the time--she was the true breakthrough in this regard, even if it was a personal victory, instead of a publicized one.

I find it interesting that as hyper-progressive as this series’ showrunners believe themselves to be, if they wanted to make a statement about Nia being accepted, her romantic interest would have been human instead of Brainy. For the nature of the entire Nia arc, the world (i.e. the audience) does not see themselves in a green off-worlder’s interest/romance with Nia at all. The point—by necessity of the era in which we the audience live—should have been the “you and I” by seeing another human interact / become romantically involved with Nia.

Supergirl: What is this series' place? Where does it stand as a live action super-hero production? Not high at all, as there's barely a major thing Supergirl ever cranked out that had not come before, or hardly broke ground in its most distinguishable category of all: a female superhero headlining a TV series. Supergirl was not born in a period where there was monolithic resistance to the idea that women could be TV heroes (which was the constant case even as "recent" as the 90s before series such as Xena: Warrior Princess)), particularly when one knows this modern era of TV (roughly the past 2+decades) featured innumerable strong female characters (some among the leads) on the most popular police / procedural dramas.

Compare that to the 1970s, where there were four fantasy series about women: The Bionic Woman (ABC/NBC, 1976-78), Wonder Woman (ABC/CBS, 1975-79), The Secrets of Isis (CBS, 1975-76) to the very light Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (ABC, 1976-77). The how and when of those productions is crucial in any sociopolitical assessment of a series, and for 1970s North America, where the women’s movement was gaining traction, but still struggling in various political and corporate quarters, the fact four fantasy series were about female heroes was a far greater—arguably seismic—breakthrough, all having to stand up--to breathe in a far different era where its messages often did not line up with the slow changes in society.

More than anything else, Supergirl was the Berlanti soapbox of projection; instead of being a serious attempt to adapt a comic book character (evident by a good number of Superman's comic book history, rogue's gallery and other details were swiped by Supergirl instead of building a world for the character).

For female superheroes adapted in this century, the contrast between a masterful interpretation--the DCEU's Wonder Woman--and the rest is glaring. From the MCU (Jessica Jones and Dagger from Cloak and Dagger being exceptions) to some of the discount Berlanti versions (which does not include the Akil/Scott-developed/run Black Lightning), the idea of an adapted female superhero being lifted up to that "for the ages" level has not happened, which is an eternal monument to just how much all others continue to fall short, some in small ways, others in laughably pratfalling ways.

Ironically, Alex saying mother Danvers could only be a Kryptonian "in the movies" was a reminder of how much Slater's interpretation was the best live action Supergirl to date, even if the film was lousy. It remains to be seen how Sasha Calle's Supergirl in the DCEU's The Flash film will turn out, but for the moment, Slater holds that "best" title with ease.

GRADE: D-.

 

Barry invited them all to his wedding but they didn’t return the favor? No wonder he didn’t ask them to join him against Brainy’s dad (a like to anyone who gets that reference) next week.
I hope Lex escapes and is used properly in Superman and Lois.

 

It was fun to see Calista Flockhart and gang return. I haven't been interested to watch everything this season but thought I should come in for the end. I think it ticked what would be expected for a finale for those who have been tuning in.

I know everyone's probably sick of hearing it but Superman's absence was once more felt here. Not only is he family but he's been a part of this show as well. I get why everyone can't be in every episode and how it might be distracting but it feels odd from a worldbuilding perspective.

To be fair, Brooks looks much more like what one would think of Superman than the traditional Jimmy Olsen.

 

What the finale needed was a Superman “not impressed” scene. With the music and all.

 

I'm hoping these events are mentioned when Alex appears on The Flash (the reopening/reformation of the D.E.O. would be a big one considering "Armageddon", Alex's wife and kid, and maybe even the revelation of Supergirl's identity).

 

It annoys me when fans get so consumed by wishful thinking that they start throwing around negative accusations when said wishful thinking isn't made reality.

 

That whole supercharge scene was hilariously bad. From the plan itself to its execution. Why do it over the city, and why would the people instantly turn on her. Just awful all round

 

Alex is in Armageddon? That’s going to be awkward.

 

The upward trend continued thankfully. I really enjoyed the finale and it exceeded my expectations. I think it felt really true to the show without going down the predictable routes.

When you think about the larger universe it makes no sense that Superman or Barry didn’t appear either in the final fight or at the wedding. But thankfully that didn’t cross my mind until after the episode.

By far the best part was Cat returning and in several scenes instead of a mere cameo. She really helped elevate the last hour and remind me of how much I enjoyed the first couple seasons.

Winn and James got just enough to be worthwhile but both were sort of wasted looking back on the show. Winn and Kara singing for a moment was appreciated.

The ending with Cat convincing Kara to reveal herself was an amazing bookend for me. Just surprised she didn’t end up with Mon El but it’s just open enough to imagine her going to the future years down the line.

The first hour was rockier but still a good hour overall. Clearly it was not written as part of the finale.

I don’t have any legitimate criticism of the finale so I’ll give it an A.

Edited to add: if Jon Cryer returns as Lex on Superman I’ll have to finally check it out. His performance was a highlight of the last few seasons. I definitely don’t see this as his end.

 

Perhaps but there was a part when they needed reinforcements which sort of telegraphs asking Superman and the JL for help.
Both the Supergirl and Superman shows have gone out of the way not to mention each other recently which makes me wonder if something has happened. Besides the Covid restrictions that is

 

Some other thoughts:

• Nowadays, show's tend to use The Dixie Chicks cover of "Landslide". Glad to see they used Fleetwood Mac's original version here. And enjoyed them using "Let's Groove" and "We Are Family".

• That duet of "We Belong" was gorgeous.

• I found the "Mon-El can never come back to this time period" thing weird, especially in contest of Brainy saying "Screw it" and deciding to stay. I figured they'd find a way to be together in the end.

• Glad to see they didn't go the route of Smallville and DCAU by sending Kara permanently to the 31st century.

• I'm glad the final episode only took 15 minutes or so to wrap-up the Nyxly/Lex story and left the remaining part of the hour to character stuff and saying goodbye.

 

Since the two shows seem to be treating each one as a separate continuity, I don't think there is a problem. Superman & Lois will just continue to ignore everything that happened on Supergirl.

It's not you. You did not miss a scene. They just suddenly show up out of nowhere in a blink of an eye.

 

I feel like this could have been a season finale, instead of a series finale if they had wanted to keep the show going. They left a lot open ended where things could have continued. Kara revealed her identity but she is still Supergirl. Her Superfriends are still around. There will be a new DEO. So they could have done another season with more adventures of Supergirl and her friends against some threat or villain, from the new DEO. And the season could have explored the consequences of Kara revealing her identity as Supergirl, what the new DEO is like etc... So it is an interesting way to end the series.

I was kinda expecting Kara to go to the future to be with Mon-El. I feel like they were kind of setting that up with her questioning her purpose and with her speech that inspired people to help each other and be their own heroes. There is even that scene where she is going to save a cat stuck in a tree and then realizes she does not need to when the people band together and save the cat themselves. I feel like they were setting things up for Supergirl not to be needed anymore and therefore she would decide to leave.

What's weird is Supergirl not being in the Flash Armageddon special crossover. Kara and Barry were close friends. And Kara is still around in National City. So how come Alex will be on the Flash but not Kara?!? In-universe, I don't think it makes sense.

 

Well, like the season, that was a mess.

However, I did like all of the cameos and the wedding. It made me nostalgic and sad that the show was ending, and maybe that’s what makes a good finale.

I was truly surprised with the ending to the character of Kara as I thought for sure she’d be gone to the future, so I was happy that she chose to reveal her identity to the world (possible issues with S&L of course). But since COIE, Supergirl hasn’t really embraced the whole being on Earth-1 thing, so maybe it will always feel like it’s on its own separate Earth in the Arrowverse.

now that the series is over, how do you rank the seasons? For me, the order is (from best to worst): 4, 3, 1, 5, 2, 6

 

I thought maybe they would as well, it would make the Superman situation easier, it would keep Kara canon but also explain why she's conspicuously absent which seems like a win/win in my mind. (Then again, you'd think the kids would remember a hero suspiciously like ol' dad)

 

1/4 (pretty much of a tie), 3, 2, 5, 6.

 

She said he died protecting Esme, which is what happened.

How hard is this to believe. Esme was the Love token - which Nyxy touched (multiple times).
Plus, in general, she may have an internal rule, no hurting kids.

Agree. First, the whole world (or Universe) was at stake, vs 1 little girl that Alex and Kelly just met maybe a month or two ago.

It's time travel. He could just as easily go back to the same moment he had to go back whether he left when he originally did, or 10 years from the wedding date.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

Which is why I hope they discuss/mention/explain it - a line or two is all that's needed.

I'd kind of like to see Brainy and Nia join the Legends if space opens up on the team next season (assuming there is another season coming).

 

It is such a shame that the last two seasons left me with such bad vibes about the series, because I really couldn't find myself to care about the characters for the final half of this episode. It is a shame, because other than the overtly "woke" dialogue which came across as the writing of a high school student, I thought the ending and taking time to provide the characters with a decent send off was the best part of the entire season.